Spreader for treating liquids



June 13, l939. L. s. KoRsEN SPREADER FOR TREATING LIQUIDS Filed Oct. 2l, 1937 Zan/T6736@ 551151670 d 7 Wim we@ Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

My invention relates to spreaders for treating liquids. It relates more in particular to a lightweight mop-type of device for spreading liquid wax on floors.

Although the spreader of my invention may be used for spreading substantially any type of treating liquid, it has been designed particularly for, and has its greatest application in, the spreading of liquid Wax onto floors and similar surfaces. Accordingly, the invention will be described with particular reference to this use, although clearly reference to a particular use shall not be considered as a limitation in the application of the invention.

So-called liquid floor wax is, in fact, not a liquid wax but an aqueous emulsion of a high melting point Wax product so constituted that, when it is spread in a thin film onto the oor, the water of the aqueous emulsion evaporates, leaving a deposit of Wax in the form of a thin lm. Various plasticizing agents, solvent modifying agents, and the like, may be incorporated, but, for the purpose of my invention, full identication of the character of the wax emulsion is not required. In the application of such a wax emulsion to a surface, it is essential, to proper results, to avoid rubbing the applied film any more than is necessary to get an even distribution. Those skilled in the art of applying liquid wax Well understand this fact. To apply an even film of liquid wax and avoid excess pressure and excess rubbing'action is substantially impossible if the weight of the spreading implement is too great. Attempts have been made to utilize a `reservoir of some kind or other with the spreader, so that, besides the Weight of the spreader itself, there is the added weight of a relatively large quantity of the liquid Wax. As a consequence, all spreaders with which I am familiar, particularly when filled with the liquid wax, have been too heavy for fully satisfactory use for the intended purpose.

Still other disadvantages in connection with spreaders and waxing devices heretofore produced are known to the industry, all of which my invention is intended to eliminate. A valve mechanism is conventionally provided to control the flow of the liquid wax from the reservoir threugh a spout or port onto the door, particularly in the path of the head. Both the valve and the opening from the valve to the floor, usually in a spout, are frequently stoppedv up by the wax hardening therein. The arrangement employed Was such that to clear up Stoppages of this kind requiredA substantially dismantling the (Cl. {l1-25) entire apparatus. Another disadvantage is that where ferrous metals are employed in the reservoir, for example, in a hollow handle, considerable oxidation of the iron would result because of the presence of water in the emulsion and rust resulting from the oxidation being red in color the liquid Wax would at times be streaked with rust as it was delivered to the floor, thus causing an undesirable staining and necessitating removal of the stained portion and reapplication of wax in order to do a thorough and acceptable job. In certain types of reservoirs, for example where a glass bottle in which the liquid wax was vended was employed, this diiiculty did not manifest itself to such a great extent, but, Where a hollow handle was employed, the difficulty has been particularly noticeable. Another disadvantage is that structural features have been employed which required the use of relatively heavy parts which added to the Weight, these parts being considered necessary because of the rather intricate design of the valve and associated mechanism which was employed.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of an improved light-weight liquid spreader particularly adapted for spreading liquid Wax onto floors, but capable of being employed for the application of any liquid treating material to a plane surface. i

Another object is the provision of an improved valve mechanism for delivering the treating liquid from a reservoir to a plane surface in the path of the spreader head.

Another object is the provision of an improved type of reservoir and an improved type of connection between the reservoir and the spreader head and through the valve mechanism.

In the development of my invention, I have had in mind other specific problems and objects and other specific details for meeting such objects and problems, all of which will appear clear to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the drawing and the detailed description which follows.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side, fragmentary, elevational View, partly in section, showing a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view showing the valve mechanism and the manner in which the handle reservoir is secured to the valve stem;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary bottom plan Vus view, looking along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on the lines 5-5 and 6 3, respectively, of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

In considering the device shown in the drawings, and presently to be described, it is to be understood that some of the structural features employed accomplish more than one advantage, and so the description of the advantages and particular features oi structure is not to be considered as a disclaimer of other features clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

The device comprises in general a head genr erally indicated by the reference character I3,

and a handle generally indicated by the reference character Il, valve mechanism and control means therefor being provided between the handle and head and comprising, in a sense, a part of the handle. The head per se consists of a block I2, preferably of wood, and a stamped plate |3. Lambs wool I4 or other suitable material is wrapped about the block I2 and the side edges disposed under the plate I3. A carriage bolt I6 extends through the block I2 and the plate I3, the thumb nut I'l being secured to the upwardly extending end of the carriage bolt so as to hold the plate and block together and clamp the edges of the lambs wool between them. This assembly comprises the completed head adapted for spreading the liquid wax on the iioor or other plane surfaces as it is delivered from the reservoir by the valve mechanism.

The valve mechanism comprises a valve stem |8 `carrying a seat against which a ball I9 engages. The ball |9 is carried in a manner to be described by a ball retaining member 2|, both the valve stem I8 and ball retaining member 2| having certain features of design which will be described. The plate I3 has an .integral upwardly extending portion 22 Vso shaped as to provide for requisite strength, and having a pair of side extensions 23 and 24 at the top which engage around the upper portion of the ball retaining member 2|. At the point where the ball I9 engages the seat on the valve stem I8, the lower portion of the valve retaining member 2| is cut away to remove the lower hemisphere thereof and provide an opening :indicated by the reference character 28 in Figs. 1 and 3. A pair of ears 21 and 28 forming a part of the extension 22 of the plate I3 are formed over the edges of the cutaway portion of the `ball vretaining member and, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, the edges of the ears 21 and 28 engage against the shoulder formed by the cutting away of a portion oi the ball retaining member so that the extension 22 cannot readily be pulled longitudinally of the ball retaining member so as to cause a separation of these members. Thus, the head lll is rigidly secured to the ball retaining member 2|.

The valve stem I8 is similarlyrigidly secured to the handle and the manner in which this is accomplished will be described in connection with the description of the handle per se. The handle comprises a section of lock-seemed tubing 29, the seamY thereof being indicated by the reference character 3|. The valve stem I8 is provided with a portion having .in `general substantially the same outside diameter as the inside diameter of the tube 29. This portion 29 is provided with a longitudinally extending groove 32 and an annularly extending groove 33. A band 34, formed of rubber or other suitable compressible material, is placed in the annular groove 33.. The tube 29 is assembled to the valve stem I8 by extending the bead 3| into the longitudinally extending groove 32 (see Fig. 5) and then spinning or otherwise crimping the tube so as to cause it to engage into the annular groove 33 and into contact with the band 34. The end of the tube may also be crimped around the shoulder formed on the valve stem I8, as indicated at 36. Thus, the tube 29 is prevented from being pulled away from the yvalve stem I8 by the crimping thereof into the annular groove and the tube is prevented from turning with respect to the valve stem I8 because the bead 3| is engaged within the annular groove 32 carried by the valve stem. The valve stem I8, therefore, is, for all practical purposes, integral with the tube 29 and, with the tube 29, forms the handle proper.

The valve stem I8 and the ball retaining member 2| are axially adjustable with respect to each other to close the valve of which these members forma part, or toopen it a suitable distance to allow the liquid wax to pass' therethrough. Preierably, the two members are threaded in the manner shown so that turning the handle in a right hand direction closes the valve, while turning the handle in a left .hand direction opens the valve. I provide automatically operable means, however, to close the valve after it has been opened by manually manipulating the handle. For this purpose, I use a coil spring 38, which is housed in the annular space formed between the shoulder on the valve stem I8 to which the handle is attached and the end of the ball retaining member 2|. One end of the spring is secured to an ear 39 formed on the side extension 24 of the member 22 (Figs. 3 and 4). The other end of the spring, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 4, is engaged by a cap screw or pin 4| which is threaded through the lower portion of the tube 29 and into the underlying section of the valve stem. The spring 38 is under tension at all times, but greater tension is imparted thereto by opening the valve. When the handle is released by the operator, the valve stem is rotated with respect to the member 2| (the handle is rotated with respect to the head I0) and the valve is closed.

The form of valve and Valve seat may be modied somewhat without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. As will be seen from Fig. 3, the ball I9, comprising the valve which engages the seat formed on the end of the valve stem, is a separate member which does not form a part of the member 2|. Obviously, in place of the ball I9, a suitable projection on the member 2| may be utilized. Such a construction, however, would require very accurate machining in order to obtain dependable results. It will be noted that, in the space in which the ball I9 is housed, there is ample room for the ball to move in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the valve stem. This permits the ball to accommodate itself to the seat at the end of the valve stem, thus making it unnecessary to provide for extreme accuracy in machining. In order to hold the ball in place, the annular edge of the recess in which the ball is housed is peened in a plurality of places as indicated, for example, at 42, thereby preventing the ball :from becoming dissociated from the member 2| when the Valve is disassembled. I, therefore, provide a simple, easily assembled valve mechanism, and one in which the valve and seat are readily lined upwithout unnecessarilyaccurate machining operations. The ball I9 may be a standard steel ball, such as employed in ball bearings.v The valve stem I8 is, for example, of relatain two very 35 inside of a previously formed 5o nished device is preferably placed on the seat and given one or two light taps with a mallet so that, should there be any irregularity in that end of the valve stem which will comprise the seat, the irregularity will be removed and a perfectly formed seat produced.

The handle, asI indicated, is formed of tubing which functions as a reservoir to hold a supply of the liquid wax. A suitable cap 43 closes the reservoir, this cap being readily removable to replenish the supply of liquid wax therein. The reservoir communicates with the valve seat through an openinglld extending entirely through the valve stem. In order to permit regularity of flow independently of the quantity of liquid wax in the handle, I provide a relatively small opening 46 near the top of the handle for the admission of air to replace the liquid wax as it is fed through the valve. l

I consider a salient feature of my invention to comprise the use of a seamed tubing for the handle, which seamed tubing is tinned, plated, or otherwise protected, on the inside in order to prevent rusting and the consequent discoloration of the liquid Wax which may occur if the wax be permitted to stand in the tube for a relatively long period of time, as, for example, between applications when the device is being employed, for example, in a private home. I obdefinite advantages by the use of the lock-seam tubing. Inasmuch as the tubing is formed up from a flat sheet of metal, the surface which will comprise the inside surface of the tube is readily and simply tinned or plated so that the aqueous emulsion of wax will not come into contact with a readily rustable or erodible surface. 'I'he tinned sheet of metal is then readily formed Without the application of any heat or at least Without the application'of a suflicient amount of heat to affect the tinned surface deleteriously. 'I'hose skilled in the art Will understand that it is an expensive, and. in a relatively long piece of tubing, a substantially impossible operation to tin, plate or coat the tube. When tubing is produced by a drawing or lap welding process, relatively high temperatures must be employed. If a sheet forming the lap welded tubing has been previously tinned, the tin surface is so affected by the heat that it will no longer function as an adequate protection to the underlying metal surface. Pretreatment of a blank is, of course, impossible when drawn seamless tubing is produced.

Another feature of advantage in my invention is the arrangement of the valve so that it is readily accessible to a brush or other tool through the opening 26. This structure has the very great advantage that should there be a tendency to clogging, the stoppage can readily be cleared. Moreover, after the device has been used, the operator may take a cloth, brush or similar implement and wipe any adhering liquid wax from the region around the opening 26 so that there will be no appreciable amount of wax that can harden and so cause a stoppage. Clearly, While the device is being used and the wax continues to flow out through the opening 26, there will be insuicient time for a stoppage to occur, Another advantage of the arrangement employed is that the liquid wax does not flow through an opening of relatively small cross section as, for example, in a spout in such a Way that there may be a variable resistance to the passage of a stream of liquid Wax, thus causing irregular feeding. In my design, the liquid wax Hows from can be obtained by pouring the liquid wax from an ordinary container, the only difference being in the fact that the valve limits the flow to a relatively smaller quantity, the exact quantity being determined obviously by the position of the handle.

Another feature is the utilization of a stamping for the plate I3 and the extension 22 thereof which connects with the handle. 'I'his construction is made possible, of course, in part by the simplified valve and liquid discharging mechanism utilized. It is also made possible in part by the fact that the block I2 has an upper portion Which extends into the relatively hollow underside of the plate I3, as illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. l, thereby producing a i'lrm and strong support Without the necessity of utilizing relatively large amounts of metal in the plate I3 itself. Heretofore relatively heavy members have been utilized, but by means of my arrangement I secure extreme lightness with more than adequate strength.

It is believed that the manner of employing the spreader of my invention is, in general, clear from the preceding detailed description. In general. however, I wish it to be noted that, after the `handle Which comprises the reservoir has been charged with a supply of treating liquid and the lambs wool pad or other material placed in position, the head is placed on the floor with the lambs wool face lying against the floor surface, and, using the contact with the floor as a means for preventing the head from turning, the handle is turned slightly to the left, that is, in a counter-clockwise direction, just enough to allow a suitable stream of the liquid to flow onto the iloor through the opening 26. The head is then moved gently and lightly over the deposited liquid, employing no more pressure than suilcient to spread the liquid in an even lm over the entire surface. The amount of the liquid deposit can be controlled accurately to suit the operators requirements. The flow of liquid is stopped by merely releasing the handle, the

spring 38 functioning to close the valve automatically. When the operation is to be discontinued, no precautions are necessary in the care of the spreader, except to release the handle and. allow the valve to close. The liquid may be allowed to remain in the handle without deleterious result, as the amount of moisture which might be evaporated through the opening 4b is negligible. When the floors require further treatment, the device can again be operated with the same supply of liquid just as if the operation had been continued on the same day.

I have described my invention in considerable detail in order that those skilled in the art may understand fully the manner in which the spreader of my invention is constructed and employed, but my invention is not limited to the identical details described. Furthermore, While the spreader is of particular advantage for application of liquid wax to floors and other plane surfaces it may be used to apply any treating liquid to a surface to which such liquid is to be applied.

a hollow handle carried What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a liquid spreader of the character described, a valve comprising at least two valve members rotatable with respect to each other to control the opening of the valve, a head secured to one of said members, and a lock-seam' tube. secured to the second of`saidl valve members, said second valve member having an exterior longitudinal groove into which the head of said tubing extends to prevent turning movement between said second valve member and tubing, said tubing comprising a handle and reservoir, and said second valve member having an opening to pass liquid from the reservoir tothe valve.

2. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a hollow handle functioning as a liquid reservoir, a head, and valve mechanism associated with the handle and head for controlling the flow of .L liquid from the handle, said valve mechanism comprising a seat and a member engageable against the seat to close the valve, the seat being open to the outside so that' liquid may flow directly from the seat onto a surfacel tou which it is applied whereby stoppage of the flow of the liquid is substantially obviated'.

3. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a valve mechanism comprising a member carrying a valve body and another member carrying a lvalve seat, one of said members threaded into the other to releasably engage Ysaid body and seat, said member carrying the' valve body being cut away to provide a large opening exposing said seat, a head carried by one oi'said members and Y by the other of said members, a passageway being provided between the inside of the handle and the valve seat.

4. A spreader as defined in claim 3, including spring means eiectiv'e between said members to normally hold said valve body against said seat.

5. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a head, a hollow handle to hold liquid, 'a valve mechanism actuated bythe relative position of handle and head to control the iiow of liquid from the hollow handle, and spring means effective between the handle and head to normally close the valve.

6. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a head, a valve member secured to the head, a

'second valve memberV threaded with respect to the first valve member, said second valve member` having an annular groove and an axial longitudinal groove, and a handle comprising lockseam tubing extending over said valve member with the seam of the tubing extending into the longitudinal groove, the tubing being crimped into the annular groove, whereby the handle is rigidly secured to said valve member.

'7. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a valve stemaxially apertured to provide a valve seat, a ball retaining member into which the stem is threaded, a ball loosely held by the ball retaining member whereby it readily is centered on said seat, the ball retaining member being cut away at. its underside to provide a relatively large opening adjacent said seat, a hollow handle secured to the valve stem, a plate secured to the ball retaining member, said plate having an upper extension formed around said ball retaining member and a pair of ears engaged over the samewhere it is cut away, and means for attaching a surface engaging spreader member to said plate, whereby the hollow handle may contain liquid, the flow of which through the valve may be controlled by controlling the relative position or said handle and plate as the spreader member is in engagement with the floor.

8; A spreader as dened in claim 'l including a spring disposed between said valve stern and ball retaining member to turn said members in a direction to normally close the valve.

9. A spreader as defined in claim 7 wherein said handle is lock-seam metal tubing, an annular and a longitudinal groove being provided in the surface of the valve steam, the seam of the tubing extending into the longitudinal groove and the tubing being crimped to extend into the annular groove.

l0. A spreader as deiined in claim '7 wherein said handle is lock-seam metal tubing, an annular and a longitudinal groove being provided in the surface of the valve stem, the seam of the tubing extending into the longitudinal groove and the tubing being crimped to exten'd' into the annular groove, and aband of resilient material extending into the annular groove, whereby to form a liquid-tight seal betweenthe tubing and valve stem.

11. Aspreader for liquid wax or the like, which comprisesv a lock-seam inside surface coated with a corrosion resisting substance, said handle serving as a reservoir for the liquid Wax, a spreader head, a valve member carried by the handle, and a valve member carried by the head', said valve members threadably associated with each other and carrying a seat and "seat engaging valve, respectively, the closing and opening of which is controlled by the relative radial positions of said valve members, said valveemember attached to the handle having a passageway placing the inside of the handle in communication with the seat and the valve member secured to the head being cut away around said seat to place saidv valve and seat in direct communication with outside atmosphere whereby liquid wax passing said seat may drop directly onto the floor.

12. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a valve mechanism, a head secured to one part of Ysaid valve mechanism, and a handle comprising lock-seam tubing having an inner protective coating, said tubing secured to a second part of said valve mechanism, said handle comprising a reservoir for the liquid, and said valve mechanism being controlled by rotating said handle for releasing a supply of the liquid from the reservoir, said valve mechanism being so disposed that liquid passing therefrom may drop directly onto the floor into the path of said head.

13. In a liquid spreader of the class described, a reservoir for the liquid comprising a lockseamed tube having an inner protective coating, said reservoir comprising a handle, a spreader head, means forV controlling the iiow of liquid from the reservoir by turning said handle on said head, and spring means effective between the handle and head normally to prevent the delivery of liquid by said last mentioned means.

LAWRENCE S. KORSEN.

tubing handle having itsr 

